Divine Healings

"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.  And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.  And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan."  (Matthew 4:23-25)

"When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.  

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,  And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.  

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.  And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."  (Matthew 8:1-17)

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."  (Psalm 103:1-5)

From the beginning of time (throughout the Old Testament), it was prophesied that Jesus's blood would be shed to provide the following:  

• the ultimate sacrifice for our sins
• an opportunity to come into a one-on-one relationship with God
• hope of eternal life in heaven
• and, our healings

Unfortunately, in today's world, at least in many parts of the world, we have ease of access to doctors and medicine, so our reliance isn't always on God, but on man.  To be clear, doctors and medicine serve a purpose and are God-given, but we should seek our healing through Christ...as his stripes have healed us.  

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."  (Isaiah 53:4-5)

As the church, it is our responsibility to seek the presence of God...in times of good health and times of bad health.  Our faith should always be in God, especially in times of sickness.  Matter of fact, the Bible speaks about how healings are a great sign that follows believers...

"And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.  And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.  And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)  Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.  There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

A few notes of caution, though:

• Efforts at entertainment in place of an actual divine intervention with God should be avoided at all costs.  Our world is full of entertainment and short on faith.  There have been multiple situations where one particular person was 'paid' to act as if a miracle has occurred, only to stir up the crowds and usually for monetary gain.
• Monetary gain and a divine healing don't go hand-in-hand.  While faithfulness to God in every way is expected, including financially, in almost every situation where a "minister" is demanding or suggesting that a monetary donation will result in a physical healing, the minister is a fraud.  God doesn't need your money to heal you.  He already paid the price with his blood.  He just wants you to have faith in Him.

While there are many examples of plain ignorance and arrogance in imitating divine healings, this should not take away from the miracles God performs each day.  We should rely on Him more and more.  In fact, in each of our church services, we have an opportunity for individuals to receive prayer from the ministry by anointing with oil.  This is biblical and should always remain a main part of the church service.

If God heals, though, should we trust in doctors and medicine?  It's important to remember that God uses doctors and medicines just as he uses others.  He has blessed us with knowledge about our human bodies and how to address certain issues.  However, the ultimate authority of life and death, healings and no healings is God himself, not the doctors nor the medicine.